


Let the Rain Wash Away My Sins

by MyLittleCornerOfSherlock



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Guilt, Post-Reichenbach, Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2018-01-04 20:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyLittleCornerOfSherlock/pseuds/MyLittleCornerOfSherlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John walks the streets of London after the Fall.  But the only time he truly enjoys being in the city anymore is when it rains.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let the Rain Wash Away My Sins

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Willie_The_Plaid_Jacket](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willie_The_Plaid_Jacket/gifts).



> Written for willietheplaidjacket's picture It was the first one of her's I found, months ago, and I asked if I could write something for it. She graciously said yes.

A quiet, unassuming man walked down a street in London.  His sandy blond hair was shaggy and unkempt but his face was clean shaven.  There were bags under his eyes and those once sparkling, deep blue eyes were weary and dull.  His steps revealed him as a man with a heavy heart.  His shoulders were hunched a bit, his feet dragging when he didn’t make the effort to pick them up all the way. Gone was his precise military stride, but his limp hadn’t yet reappeared.  His hands were shoved in the pockets of his jeans and he did everything he could to make himself take up as small a space in the area he occupied as he could.   

The citizens of London rushed past him, unseeing.  They laughed and talked with their companions, cursed at the reckless cabbies, sent text after text, never once noticing how he looked at the various groups of people longingly, specifically two friends.  How he’d watch two people who were obviously so in sync with each other that one could be texting away and the other hold the door open and the person texting would walk right through without ever looking up, trusting their friend to be there for them.  The blond man smiled sadly, remembering the day he’d been the door holder for his friend in a long black coat.  

The dark clouds that had been threatening the city with a rainstorm finally held good on their promise.  Dozens of people scattered, taking shelter under awnings and in the stores along the sidewalks.  Some opened their umbrellas and kept walking down the street.  John Watson stood there, closed his eyes, tilted his face upwards, and smiled as the drops hit.

The guilt that sat heavy in his heart felt lighter for a moment.  He embraced the grey rain as it washed over his body, peaceful and soul cleansing.  The drops slid slowly over his cheeks, down his chin, combining with the silent tears that slipped out from under his eyelids.  This was truly the only time he enjoyed being out in the hustle and bustle of London.  The rain, his salve against the soul wounds after Sherlock’s death.  He carried with him the guilt of not seeing how bad it had been for Sherlock with him everywhere he went.   The rain felt almost a blessing of a sort from Sherlock.  A gentle “You weren’t supposed to see.  It’s not your fault” with each drop.  No amount of therapy could do what a good rainstorm could for John’s soul.

So it was in this way that he was found.  Rain pouring down, a peaceful smile upon his face, with his hair hanging shaggy in front of his closed eyes.  Eyes that when they opened at the sound of his name, were full of shock and disbelief, John was almost sure Sherlock was an apparition there to absolve him of his sins.   Except the apparition shouldn’t be the one saying, “I’m so sorry.”

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently I cannot get a link inserted to the picture in the notes at the beginning. Go here to see the picture:  
> http://willietheplaidjacket.tumblr.com/post/70081660654/mylittlecornerofsherlock


End file.
